PLP’s anti-discrimination priority (in our current strategy, here) commits us to… platforming and providing speaking opportunities to lawyers, academics, and other public law professionals from underrepresented and racialised backgrounds.  We try to do this do this across our events programme, so for instance the programme for this event, Legal Research for Social Impact, is much more academic / researcher heavy, and incorporates underrepresented voices in or working with the research community.  This event is coproduced with community activists and incorporates primarily underrepresented voices and communities. Our annual conference seeks to promote underrepresented voices through a commercial flagship event.

Accessibility to speakers

PLP’s conference program has, up until very recently, been built on the assumption that participation by legal professionals is pro bono, though we pay expenses when requested.  We also assume that participants from larger NGOs with similar aims to PLP participate in order to further those aims, and so do not require remuneration unless they make that clear.
To those participating from smaller organizations that are not well funded, community activists and those that simply do not have access to financial resources, we pay an appearance fee and expenses, and offer these upfront on invite to so that the onus is on us to start that conversation, not the invited participants. 

Accessibility to communities

Our anti-discrimination policy also commits us to designing and delivering more events with user-led groups particularly those representing or advocating for individuals who have experienced discrimination.
In 2024 we presented our first coproduced event with community activists using the law to fight discrimination and uphold their rights: #Publicdisco Special Edition: From Crisis to Empowerment – Public Law Project.  We are committed to developing this, or very similar, events and producing smaller, one-off coproduced events.

Diversity of presenters, trainers and facilitators on panels and training programmes

PLP try to ensure any individual panel or set of speakers for training and events are diverse by prioritizing invites to people from underrepresented backgrounds.  When we say underrepresented backgrounds we include not just those possessing protected characteristics as defined by the Equalities Act, but also (as examples of our wider remit) those with socioeconomic disadvantage, those with lived experience of immigration/welfare systems. However, this does need to be balanced with inviting experts in often highly specialized areas of the law, which is often an exclusive sector without a diverse pool of experts to draw on. So, we use our events platform to try to counterbalance and challenge We will still likely run seminars where desired levels of diversity are not attained for one reason or another, and seek to balance this by:

  • Ensuring we produce events specifically to address discrimination and diversity.
  • Using such events to diversify our network to in turn diversify the speakers at our training and conference events.

If you want to suggest anyone (including yourself) takes part in a PLP event as an expert by experience, a representative of a diverse community or a community that is discriminated against, please do contact us, or if you have any feedback on this policy please write to:  [email protected]

Accessibility to delegates
We try to ensure our events are accessible and have a separate, internal policy covering this. One way is that we offer very low cost or free tickets to events where we can, and we always ensure venues are physically accessible, have hearing loops etc. We mandatorily ask delegates if they have access requirements or require further facilitation e.g. by us providing STTR for those with a hearing disability.

This is a living policy and we are always open to receiving feedback and updating it if appropriate. If you have suggestions or feedback for this policy please e-mail us:
[email protected]